nightlife

Festival season starts early in Barcelona. No sooner have your Blue Monday blues subsided than the sun has come back out and you're once again preparing for the successful Canuck import, Mutek. Back to take over several venues in the city from Wednesday to Saturday, the underground electronic meet features as varied a lineup as we have come to expect off the back of a half-decade’s work in Barcelona.

It has become an institution in which artists from the forefront of electronic music are allowed a space for expression, such as the legendary Robert Henke, in addition to a fine selection of dancefloor rockers like Move D, Pantha du Prince, and John Talabot and Axel Boman’s Talaboman project. Artists presenting audiovisual sets are particularly well represented this year, including the French/Japanese act Nonotak, who make their Spanish debut.

The festival also retains its didactic elements, with free workshops at the Convent de Sant Agustí – for the same cost, you can check out the resident artist of the weekend, Estefania AA, at l’Auditori on Thursday evening. The opening night Wednesday at Moog costs just €5; other sessions range from €12 to €20 a night, with a full festival pass available for €95.